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☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ The Hot Corner by Heidi Champa ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Hot Corner

By Heidi Champa

The Blurb…

After breaking up with his boyfriend Josh for the fifth time, Jeremy Woodward is in desperate need of a change. At the urging of his best friend, Jeremy decides to tag along on a trip to Nashville in the hopes of finding a job in minor league baseball. Even though Jeremy knows little about the game, the chance for a fresh start and a little distance from his old life is too hard to pass up. A short time later, Jeremy returns from Nashville with a new job, a fresh beginning, and sizzling memories of a one-night stand with a baseball player named Trevor.
While working for the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Jeremy gets a taste of the life he wants. But his past is never far away. His ex, Josh, has promised to wait patiently for him to come to his senses. And the sexy Trevor, the team’s star third baseman, is never far away. Even though Jeremy works in the minor leagues, he’s got a major-league decision to make. Does he keep stealing time with the guy at third? Run home to the safety of his ex? Or perhaps take a chance on something exciting and entirely new with Theo, the cute guy hiding underneath the mascot suit?…

So what did I think?

4 Inside-the-Park Home Run Stars

I went into this book knowing nothing about the story or the author. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. Very much so in fact.

Jeremy is one of those guys who goes from one bad relationship to the next. He is always making the wrong decisions, leaping before he looks. The one time he tries to do the right thing, however, that’s the wrong thing too. So instead of pursuing Theo, who is obviously perfect for Jeremy, he friend zones him.

The sexual tension in this story was yummy. My frustration with Jeremy was immeasurable. I wanted to reach into my Kindle, grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Hard. And often. The hurt that Jeremy suffered each time it seemed that Theo was moving on was palpable. Towards the end though, Jeremy’s continuing failure to just tell Theo how he felt got a little old. The almost telling him then backing away happened one, maybe two, times to many for my tastes.

It should be noted that this isn’t really a sports book. Jeremy and his friend go to work for a minor league baseball team. One of Jeremy’s countless mistakes is a “relationship” with a ballplayer. You get lots of interesting tidbits about stadium operations and the like, but it’s not really a book about an athlete. Which was fine with me. The story worked, even if the cover was a bit misleading. And none of that will dissuade me from posting the picture above.

Also, there wasn’t a lot of on page sex. Of course, sex is good but the way it was written at least the romance scenes didn’t feel like they were being cut off just as things were getting hot.